The elusive great cat of the high mountains, honoured in Tibetan tradition and found on ranges across the plateau.
- Group: Mammal
- Habitats: Rocky slopes, cliffs, alpine meadow
- Regions: Ü Tsang, Kham, Amdo
Habitat
Steep, broken terrain and cliffs high in the mountains.
Diet
Mainly blue sheep and other wild goats and sheep, as well as marmots; sometimes livestock.
Ecological role
A top predator that keeps wild herbivore numbers in balance.
Threats
Poaching for skins and bones, killing in revenge for livestock losses, loss of wild prey, and mining and roads in its range.
Conservation
Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. In the source region of the Machu, Drichu and Dzachu in Amdo and Kham, Li and colleagues (2014) found that 46 per cent of 336 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries lay inside snow leopard habitat, and that their patrols and teaching against killing could protect more habitat than the core zones of the nature reserve.